Planning Your Day in 30 Minutes – Time Management

It doesn’t matter if you’re a one man show or part of a larger team we, all too often, get off track with our daily tasks. It’s due to a lack of planning and poor time management. Interruptions and new work prevent us from scratching off the already mile long list of things we need to get done.

There are many different methods to organize your daily tasks. From to-do lists to blocks of scheduled time, we do whatever works best for us. However you organize everything you need to do is up to you, but you need to take the time to organize your day.

Write Everything Down

My friends often laugh at my to-do-list as it’s pretty inclusive of everything I have to do or have planned. Every little “oh I have to do that” idea that pops into my head gets written down or put into my to-do app. From there I’ll decide which items need to get done sooner rather than later and I’ll even schedule the things that may not need to be done for months, but at least when there due I’ll remember to get it done.

Plan Your to-do List One Day at a Time

If your life is anything like mine you have ten to twenty projects on the go at all times. Some of these require immediate attention, while others can be delayed for a time when they better fit into your schedule. It is important to identify and prioritize your tasks and move things around as necessary.

For me, organizing my to-do list on a daily basis helps me get things done. I start every morning by taking 30 minutes to plan my day. With a cup of coffee and my tablet in hand I’ll look at my list of things to-do and set my goals for the day. I take into consideration things like meetings, and things I need to do outside of the office. I’ll also take into account the tasks that I had scheduled for the day before, because let’s face it, we don’t always accomplish everything we had planned, and decide if they should become a priority for the day or moved somewhere else.

Taking this time to focus on your day will make you more productive. You’ll start with more purpose and you’ll stay on track.